Themed Flames Of War Tournaments with Tom Burgess If you really think about it all Flames Of War tournaments are essentially themed events. That is they are themed to Early, Mid, or Late-war and not open to any and all forces from World War Two. But even beyond the standard period breakdown, some major annual Flames Of War tournaments, such as Shifting Sands and Wolfkrieg, have taken further steps to narrow their themes even more tightly, even down to a single campaign using Red vs. Blue match-ups. Left: Tom at Wolfkrieg 2013.

Why do the organisers of these tournaments do this? Does it not affect attendance negatively? What consideration should others wishing to run more themed events themselves look at if they want to do something similar? These are some the questions this article will address. Why Do A Themed Tournament? The best answer is to have more fun. If maximising the historical accuracy of Flames Of War gaming excites you, then themed tournaments may help you to achieve that even in a competitive environment. There are many who are content to play Blue vs. Blue games and that’s okay, but there’s also no reason not to push for more historical accuracy if that’s what you prefer.
Thanks to the Firestorm campaign concept a tournament can also be a campaign as Shifting Sand has continually done, adding even more value to the event experience for many. Also, there are far more open Flames of War tournaments, so going themed often helps an event stand out as a more unique gaming experience. But the most important reason to do a themed event is because you as the tournament organiser want to! The number one key to a good event is the organiser being passionate about their duties and responsibilities. Having a passion for the specific theme will pay great dividends in planning and execution of an event and will add to the satisfaction of all who attend. For me at least, a good theme goes a long way to sparking my interests and excitement about doing all the work a successful event will require.

Does A Theme Negatively Affect Attendance?  If he continuing growth of Wolfkrieg and Shifting Sands is any indication, you’d have to say that a good theme increases interest and attendance. Some will think that a limiting theme will preclude some players from being able to participate. This rarely is the case. If a player really wants to participate there are normally many who will be all too happy to loan models or even complete forces to make it happen for that player. Furthermore, there are players out there just looking for an excuse to start a new army and your event can be the catalyst they need to get started. In the end, if someone from your club is ultimately left out because of a theme, then you have a prime candidate for support personnel to help run the event itself.

What Should An Organiser Consider When Planning A Themed Event? The first is to decide on the specifics; what period, what campaign, will it be a Firestorm type event, etc? As noted above, you, as the tournament organiser have to decide what interests you the most and stick to your guns. If you’re excited about what you are doing, that excitement will come through in the event’s execution. If you find others are trying to too heavily influence your decisions, you can always say; “That’s a great idea…why don’t you run that event then!” This is not to say you should not seek out and value the input of others. You should, but in the end it’s your call and you need to go with what you want to see happen.

Something you may want to consider for themed events is awards based on side/force type as much as overall standing. Wolfkrieg typically has an Overall Champ as its highest award, but then the following awards are more side/type focused; i.e. Top Allied, Top Italian, Best Axis Infantry Force etc. The idea is to encouraged folks to run more off-beat lists and not just constrain themselves to the hot list of the season because they think that’s what the need to do to be successful.  On really nice aspect of a Red vs. Blue matched event is that you can keep track of all the scores and recognise the overall winning side.  Even if someone did overall relatively poorly, they can at least come away with some satisfaction that the points they did earn contributed to the team cause.

Terrain boards are always a challenge for themed events. If you want to focus on a signal campaign, then you really need terrain boards that suit it. You’ll need to draw on participating players to help with that and should consider giving a Best Table award. You may also want to consider giving guidance on density expectations and terrain definitions for those bringing boards, though Version Three of the rules has really helped with the latter.

When it comes to tournaments, the If you build it, they will come philosophy apples. If you put your heart and soul in to making an event the best it can be, it will be a great event regardless of whether it’s a themed or open tournament. So if you’re a guy like me who really likes the idea of themed events, then follow your heart and make it happen. You will not be disappointed by the results! ~ Tom.